Is climate change a scientific hoax?

Senator James Inhofe (R — Oklahoma) has claimed that human-caused global warming is a hoax perpetrated by scientists on the public, and many other climate-change deniers appear to agree. Rush Limbaugh has called climate-change science “the biggest scam in the history of the world.” But the very concept of a scientific hoax or scam on the public is crazy. There has never in the history of science been a single example of a scientific hoax perpetrated by the worldwide scientific community. Scientists are professional skeptics who demand convincing evidence before they subscribe to scientific claims. There have been hoaxes where one scientist or a small group has fabricated data or otherwise attempted to fool the scientific community — but the scientific community itself is the modern world’s ultimate bullshit detector. Any important claim is routinely subjected to independent tests, and such hoaxes never last long.

Senator Jon Kyl

However, there have unfortunately been many examples of politicians making statements that are not true — and sometimes not even intended to be factual, such as the erroneous claim by Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R — Arizona) that “well over 90 percent” of Planned Parenthood’s funds are used for abortion related services, when the actual figure turned out to be about 3%.

Late Senator Daniel Moynihan

As Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said, everyone is entitled to their own opinions but not to their own facts. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences joined in 2009 with the science academies of the G8 countries and other leading countries to issue a joint statement calling on their leaders to “seize all opportunities” to address global climate change that “is happening even faster than previously estimated.” Arctic sea ice is melting rapidly, for example, and feedbacks in the climate system might lead to even more rapid climate changes. The report America’s Climate Choices (May 2011) by the National Academy of Sciences said: “Climate change is occurring, is very likely caused primarily by human activities, and poses significant risks to humans and the environment. … [T]he environmental, economic, and humanitarian risks of climate change indicate a pressing need for substantial action to limit the magnitude of climate change and to prepare to adapt to its impacts.”

The world scientific consensus is clear: Earth faces serious problems from climate change due to human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases, and the longer we delay addressing these problems because of erroneous and sometimes self-serving views, the greater the likelihood of catastrophe.